The Detroit Pistons took another plunge down the totem pole last season, stumbling to the end of the season with a 27-55 record. That’s why this off-season is so important for the organization.

The Pistons have the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, so they have a great opportunity to select from a wide array of talent; however, only one player makes sense: Cole Aldrich.

The Kansas center has been speculated to be among the favorites to be drafted by the Pistons, but most people think Detroit will go with Wake Forest small forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

The Pistons, unlike the Lions, do not have the luxury of drafting at any position knowing that whoever they draft will be better than who they have currently.

Detroit already has small forwards in Tayshaun Prince and last year’s first-rounder, Austin Daye.

The Pistons have a gaping hole at center. The only centers on the roster are Ben Wallace (a free agent) and Kwame Brown, the worst first-round pick ever.

Aldrich is the type of quality player who can provide height and shot-blocking prowess for a team that is drastically undersized.

Aldrich’s last season with the Jayhawks didn’t go quite as planned. His points-per-game average dropped from 14.9 to 11.3 from his sophomore to junior year, and on top of that, the Jayhawks were knocked off early in a tournament they were supposed to win.

But if you’ve seen the type of player Aldrich is, you would have to be crazy to think that last year will hinder his chances of being an NBA great.

Despite a slight drop in scoring, probably due to the addition of fellow soon-to-be-first-round pick Xavier Henry, Aldrich still averaged nearly 10 rebounds and more than three blocks a game.

In his sophomore year, he joined the college basketball elite in putting up a triple-double in the NCAA tournament, 13 points, 20 boards, 10 blocked shots; becoming the first to do so since Dwyane Wade in 2002.

He was the first to do so with double-digit blocks since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992. That’s good pretty good company.

Furthermore, Aldrich racked up a national championship in 2008 and three Big 12 championships for Kansas. Think about what he could do in the long term for the Pistons.

Re-printed with permission of the author.

Tony Briscoe is a Detroit-based freelance writer who has been published in the Detroit Free Press and BleacherReport.com and is also a contributor to Sports Climax.

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